How Tom Brady Could Spoil Patriots’ Potential Coaching Search

From leading the Patriots to win after win and always putting the team first, Tom Brady significantly helped New England in a variety of ways for two decades.

But now, in one of his most noteworthy post-retirement roles, Brady has a chance to be a major thorn in the Patriots’ side.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini on Saturday shared her latest intel on all of the coaching buzz heading into Week 18. There potentially could be new openings in New England and Las Vegas, where Brady is a majority owner.

“Most around the league believe head coach Antonio Pierce is on shaky ground, and if he’s let go I would expect that Tom Brady, as a minority owner, will have significant influence on who the next head coach will be,” Russini wrote. “Though that doesn’t mean his immediate favorite is (Mike) Vrabel, despite the fact they are good friends and former teammates.”

While Russini didn’t position Vrabel as Brady’s preference, she also didn’t say the Raiders won’t make a strong run at the former Patriots linebacker. And that could be bad news for New England, where Robert Kraft would go on his second coaching search in as many years if he fires Jerod Mayo.

It’s unclear how Vrabel would rank the Patriots and the Raiders in terms of appeal. But New England fans know better than anyone that having Brady on your side is a tremendous plus.